The SFU Pipe Band is proud to announce a fundraising concert and ceilidh in support of Andrew Bonar with all proceeds going to the BC Cancer Foundation for brain cancer care and research. The concert will take place at 6:00 PM – 7:30 on March 28 at the SFU Theatre on Burnaby Mountain with the ceilidh following at 8PM at the Club Ilya in the Cornerstone building at SFU. The world champion SFU pipe band will be performing alongside the Heather Jolley Highland Dancers, of which Andrew’s daughter, Kate, is a member.

I learned many year ago not to boast about the often great weather in Vancouver.

It first dawned on me soon after I arrived in Vancouver that not everyone gets excited about a sunny, 15 degree day in February. The realization came while winter sailing in English Bay.

I was headed to Bowen Island with a group of friends, to participate and play pipes at the annual Robert Burns Supper at a local pub. With the sun shining down on us, a light breeze blowing and good friends, it was a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon in January. In my excitement, I called one of my brother’s in Nova Scotia to tell him about my sailing trip, the warm sun and beautiful day. He told me that was great and that he’d like to stay on the phone and chat but he and his sons had to go back outside and shovel snow – for the third time that day. I got the message, and have been conscious of my smugness ever since. Continue reading →

When the bagpiper plays the lament this year at cenotaphs in Vancouver and around the country on November 11, it will a poignant moment for many.

As most Canadian are well aware, we lost two soldiers recently on our own shores. Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was run over and killed as he departed a government office building in Quebec. The deranged attacker, who was later killed in a confrontation with police, was a Muslim convert who RCMP had investigated as an Islamic State sympathizer. Continue reading →

The sun shone again, for the 16th time in the 17 year history of the BC Law Enforcement memorial, commemorating those officers of the RCMP and all other police forces who lost their lives in the line of duty in British Columbia. This is an annual event that draws police members from all over British Columbia and Washington. A similar memorial is held in each province at the end of September, with a national memorial held in Ottawa.

This is also an opportunity for the three police pipe bands in the Lower Mainland to play for the honour guards and troops who march to remember their past colleagues. The RCMP E. Division Pipe Band, under Pipe Major Hugh Peden and Drum Major Rob Smith, led the bands to Rotary Stadium in Abbotsford today, followed by the Delta Police Pipe Band, under PM John Ralston and Drum Major J.P. DaSilva and the Vancouver Police Pipe Band, under PM Cal Davis.

If you wear a kilt and play the bagpipes for thousands of visitors from around the English speaking world, you can expect to be on the receiving end of a lot of questions about Scotland’s drive for independence. As the bagpiper for the Rocky Mountaineer train, I certainly have.

To be clear, I was born and raised in New Scotland (Nova Scotia) not Old Scotland. I am a fifth generation Canadian and obviously unable to vote. However, as a kilt-wearing bagpiper with a Scottish name, believe me, you become a magnet for questions from visitors from around the world about Scottish independence. Continue reading →

“Working on the railroad” at the Rocky Mountaineer station in Vancouver.

For the past four years during the summer months, I have been fortunate to play pipes for the Rocky Mountaineer Rail Company. The tourist passenger train with the amazing views takes travellers through the spectacular Rocky Mountains to Banff and Jasper, Calgary and Whistler. And this year, the company has added an additional train, the Coastal Passage, from Seattle to Vancouver.

As a piper, it’s a great opportunity to share music with an enthusiastic group of travellers, supported by an amazing crew of people at Rocky Mountaineer. Click on the link below to see what life is like behind the scenes at Rocky Mountaineer as we prepare for an early morning train departure. Enjoy.

Bob Gillies (on rt) with other participants in AHG Reunion Pipe Band. (Bob is playing John Walsh’s full silver pipes.)

Bob Gillies classic bagpipes are safe and sound – and back in British Columbia.

In the fall of 2013, retiree Bob and his wife took a leave of absence from the Delta Police Pipe Band. They packed their RV for a long journey and as usual, Bob tossed in his pipes for their yearlong adventure. The Gillies travelled from BC to Mexico last winter, then up to the Canadian Maritimes in the early summer. Bob plans call for a return to the US during the cold Canadian winter before heading back home to BC next year. His wife and RV are still with him. His Starck bagpipes? Well, today they are a continent away. Continue reading →